Cloud CAL part 1

I can’t believe a week has passed since I introduced this CAL. But here we are ready to start Part 1! I hope you have selected your yarn and beads. I have seen a few people considering the colour of beads, so if you are undecided I suggest you wait until you’ve done a bit of Part 1 and then try the beads against the crochet.

I am joining the CAL as well, and this is my yarn choice, plus some beads (I’m undecided on the beads):

The yarn is vintage Natural Dye Studio Cobweb, I have 50g with approx 360m – maybe I have enough for 2. That would be good as I am so undecided on the beads – it gives me the option to try another colour of beads!

So are you ready? Well, let’s start 🙂

First weigh your yarn. Sometimes the ball is a slightly different weight to that expected. Mine was only 22.95g rather than 25g but it had been lurking in my stash for years, so I may have used a little of it on a project.

You will need to weigh your remaining yarn regularly as you work. So make a note of the amount you started with and keep those scales handy as you work. Now do a little maths – first divide by 2 and then add 0.2g. For me this was:

22.95 divided by 2 equals 11.475, add 0.2 equals 11.675. I rounded this up to 11.7g

Keep a note of your number because you need to stop crocheting the first part when your remaining yarn weighs this amount!

What if you have more than a 25g ball? Well, you work until you have used about 12.3g or the length is half what you want.

Tension/gauge does not matter for this design, but you do need to ensure you keep a loose stitch for a light and airy feel to the scarf. For this you must allow the hook to decide the stitch size and do not pull the yarn tight when you complete each stitch.

I found 22.95g was sufficient for a scarf approx. 10cm wide by 220cm long (in Rowan Kidsilk Haze yarn, 22.95g is about 190m). So unless you want a very long scarf, and provided you have a full ball of yarn, then you can afford to do a little tension trial to start with. Try the first 4 rows – this should measure approx. 10cm wide and 5cm long. It doesn’t matter if you are a bit out. But if you are a lot out (say more than 20%) try using a different hook – bigger hook if your swatch is too small, smaller hook if you swatch is too big. Having said that, if you like the look of your tension swatch it really doesn’t matter if it isn’t the correct size!

Row 1: Turn and work 1dc in 2nd ch from hook, (1dc in next ch, 1ch, miss 1 ch, 1dc in next ch) repeated until last ch, 1dc in last ch, turn. You should have 6 1ch-sps and 14dc.

Now to make life easy for you when doing the next row, place a stitch marker in every 1ch-sp, like this:

Row 2: 2ch, *(1tr, 1ch, 1tr) in 1ch-sp (where the stitch marker is), missing all the dc inbetween; repeat from * to last 1ch-sp, in this last 1ch-sp you do something slightly different: (1tr, 1ch) in last 1ch-sp, tr2tog placing first part in the same 1ch-sp and second part in last dc on the Row, turn. You can remove your stitch markers now.

The first 2ch and 1tr together count as a tr2tog – so you start and end the row with a tr2tog which helps give a firm edge.

Row 3: 2ch, *(1tr, 1ch, 1tr) in 1ch-sp; repeat from * to last 1ch-sp, in this last 1ch-sp you do something slightly different: (1tr, 1ch) in last 1ch-sp, now tr2tog placing first part in last 1ch-sp and second part in last st on the Row (this is the top of the 2ch at start of last Row), turn. You should now see that the pattern is a series of V sts.

Row 3 is the pattern, repeat it until your remaining yarn weighs that magic number you calculated – it must be no less than this number, so you may want to weigh your yarn regularly and estimate when that magic number will be reached. I did a total of 77 rows.

This is how my stitches look, light and open with a lovely haze:

Do not break yarn when you reach the end – wait until next week when I show you what to do next!

Some tips on working this design:

As I mentioned in tension, let the hook decide the size of your stitch – do not pull the yarn once the hook is through the stitch as this will tighten it too much and you won’t get the open cloud-like effect.

It is very easy to miss the yarn and hook a bit of the fluff instead. So check that you have placed you stitches correctly at the end of each Row. It means stopping for a few seconds to look, but it is worth the effort as that check can save some frogging later.

If you do have to frog, go very slowly and use the hook to help break the fibres that somehow manage to blend together in the fluff, don’t use scissors as it is easy to have an accident and cut your yarn!

If you have plenty of yarn and want a wider scarf, then increase your foundation chain in multiples of 3ch, each 3ch extra gives an additional V st to each Row.

Please feel free to ask questions, here or on Ravelry or on Facebook. And please share progress photos!